FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2025

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation: Eliminates Requirement That Elected Insurance Commissioner Approve Increases in Property and Automobile Insurance Rates. Initiative Statute.

Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on October 15, 2025.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent(s) and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent(s) and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

ELIMINATES REQUIREMENT THAT ELECTED INSURANCE COMMISSIONER APPROVE INCREASES IN PROPERTY AND AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE RATES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Repeals law requiring that insurers obtain Insurance Commissioner’s approval before raising property and automobile insurance rates. Instead, new rates take immediate effect; afterwards, Insurance Commissioner may disapprove their use in future policies, but not for policies that have already issued. Eliminates requirement that automobile rates be based primarily on driver’s safety record, years of driving experience, and miles driven. Instead, Insurance Commissioner will establish new criteria, which may include factors considered in other states (e.g., credit score, employment status). Eliminates compensation for public intervenors who challenge rate increases. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Likely reduction in state spending to regulate insurance companies. These savings would be very small compared to the state’s total budget. (25-0012A2.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1989 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0012A2.

The proponent of the measure, Elizabeth Hammack, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 13, 2026. The address for the proponent is 3009 Douglas Blvd., Suite 300, Roseville, CA 95661. The proponent may also be contacted at ehammack@panorama360.com and (650) 492-9800.

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